I have to say, I had my reservations up until fairly recently. Do senior decision makers at major organisations really read blogs and join online communities? Well, the answer is that some do (minority) and some don’t (majority) – but either way it’s missing the point. Why? Because web 2.0 techniques are all about helping people find information they want, rather than interrupting what they are already doing.
Whilst the majority of people might not join online communities, or actively post on blogs, I can pretty much guarantee that they are out there right now looking for information from the internet. Newsletters, blogs, websites, podcasts, white papers – all being rifled through by members of your target audience trying to make presentations, back up business cases and find statistics to help them make decisions. And web 2.0 techniques are a great way of making sure your content is found and circulated.
One of the major influences in changing my mind has been David Meerman Scott’s excellent book “The New Rules of Marketing & PR”. He talks a lot of sense and applies classic marketing practice to a new channel.
As a quick way into his book and his thinking, it’s worth downloading his free ebook on viral marketing from his blog.
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I agree with your point about whether senior decision makers at big companies comment on blogs. My experience is that they often don’t. I also agree that blogs are a very useful way of spreading rapidly updated content across the web so that it can be found by those looking for such content.
I am in two minds however, about whether it’s sensible for companies to try to create online communities or not. I hear a lot of talk about this, but I’m wouldn’t have thought it possible create a community online without the beginnings of that community already being in existence offline?
It’s an interesting point. I think there’s a difference between trying to create a community and tapping into one that already exists. The people who buy your products or services probably won’t see themselves as part of the “customers of companyX” community – but they will see themselves as part of a community of peers somewhere. It’s understanding the audience, then finding those communities and being a part of them that’s the key.
You’ve then got to have something to add – and it needs to be something valuable. If you develop ERP systems or offer HR consulting services a community somewhere will be interested. But not in your marketing messages – only in how what you are saying will directly affect them.
The challenge with creating corporate communities is almost in the statement: you can’t instantly create a community. A community is built around people working together more efficiently and for better results. Creating a mutual exchange doesn’t happen an overnight.
This said, there are quite a few examples of organisations (some very large) that have implemented collaborative and social networking technologies with great efficacy. Corporate social communities are as much about a change in mindset as they are in better technology to enable it. Collaborative technologies such as Sharepoint enable the community – people give it life.
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